Akki plays clown, brings a twinkle

Sukanya Verma

A little girl is upset.

Nothing anyone can say can bring a smile to her face.

In comes a clown -- red nose and all. And the little girl bursts into laughter.

We are on the sets of Neeraj Vora's Khiladi 420.

We are at a palatial house, replete with a huge verandah and a luxurious swimming pool that overlooks a garden.

In reality, it is Hotel Royal Palms, Goregaon -- Bollywood's most sought-after shooting spot next to Film City.

An aside. Speaking from experience, here's something you should know:
* Royal Palms is completely out of the way.
* Beware of the autorickshaw guys -- they don't hesitate to ditch you midway.
* Do not travel alone.

Once you surmount the above without occasion, you can ensconce yourself at Keshu Ramsay's latest Khiladi flick, Khiladi 420 starring, who else, Akshay Kumar and Mahima Chaudhary.

At the centre of action reigns chaos. The porch is decorated with colourful balloons and ribbons. A huge chocolate cake occupies pride of place on a glass centre table.

A closer look reveals that it is a fake cake.

Yes, it is a birthday party sequence, hordes of kids in tow.

Akshay, for his part, cuts a different picture. Instead of his usual hep leathers and denims, he is togged up in a clown's outfit. Mahima is gracious in peach satin sari.

Writer-actor-director Neeraj Vora explains the scene to the rather at sea lead pair along with other members of the cast, namely comedians Viju Khote and Razak Khan.

The scene requires Razak Khan to gatecrash the celebrations, causing a ruckus. The children are instructed to let out a shriek at the count of four. After a dozen takes, the shot is okayed.

Seated far away from the hoo-haa are villains Sayaji Shinde and Mukesh Rishi.

"We are waiting for our scenes to be canned," says a visibly bored Rishi. When asked about their part in the film, the duo chime in unison, "Our role? What else can we play? Villains, obviously."

Neeraj Vora, who earlier wrote for films like Rangeela and Hera Pheri as well as acted in Mann, Akele Hum Akele Tum and Hello Brother (remember the farting police inspector?), is pleased as punch about turning director.

After speaking to a few TV crews, he informs us that it is thanks to Akshay's persistence that he turned to direction. "Akshay was so impressed with the way I narrated the script, that he insisted that he would act only if he directed."

Mahima, who is doing a rather good babe-in-the-woods impersonation, gives her take on the film, "It's a thriller, I would say."

Akki, when he is not giving a shot, spends all his time religiously glued to his cell phone.

And the twinkle in his eyes was, I could have sworn, not a figment of my imagination!